Building element



Jan. 22, 1946. V w. R. JONES 2,393,379

, BUILDING ELEMENT Filed May 8, 1944 Patented J an. 22, .1946" U ITE ST WllliamlLJones, Metuchen, Ni J., assignor to I The Celotex CorporatiomChieago, 111., a corporation ofDelaware Application May 8, 1944, seri l No. 534,613

I 3 Claims.

This invention relates-t0 a corner member to.

be applied for finishing the corners of "constructions wherein buildings originallyJerectedare surfaced with or the exterior of old buildings are resurfaced with those products, generally referred to as insulating brick siding. The building. elements hereof are overlay corner members, that is r they are applied at cornersor the structure over the insulating brick sidingmaterial to finish off the corners and to cover and protect the ends of the siding units whichiotherwise would beexposed where they meet at. a comer. The corner mem-- here hereof, as mentioned, are merely mounted on the corners overlyingztheunderlying; siding material, and they are-suitably secured in place as by adhesive and nailing or withboth. The material known as insulating brick siding has fiber insulationboardas its base, which fiber,

insulation board, whether surface coated with asphalt or the like, has. applied to one surface thereof a'further coatingof asphalt inzwhich are embedded suitable granules-of grit,and in which surfacing there is impressed mortar: Joint lines,-

so that the units when applied to the exterior oi the building-present the appearance-10f; a brick: structure.

The corner units-hereof havethe sameflnish as the brick siding: units, that is, they are finished with a layer or coating of asphalt or the like in which there is embedded suitable granules'or grit, and mortar Joint lines are pressed into the surface of the material so that these corner members.

when applied carry out the visual effect of the brick simulating pattern of the brick siding. I

In connection with fllednstallat'ion of their!- siflating bricksiding, or'of other types, of brick simulating surface coverings as, for example, brick simulating asphalt saturated shingle type materials, therehave been provided corner mambers for applicationat corners for, covering and A mere'sheet of saturated and coatedfelt isea-- as a corner member is, at its best, but a makeshift; It is flexible-and not sufficiently rigid to hold its form and'is unsatisfactory from every practical consideration. g

Variouscorner members have been constructed and used in which strips of fiber insulation board, or other more or les rigid material, have been used as a base on which an asphalt coating and grit have been applied with various 'expedients utilized for providing a hinge-like effect between the two sides or legs, so that the structure can be formed with its two legs at right angles to form a corner member. Inlieuof asphaitcoating and grit for surfacing, some of these come;- members are surfaced with surface-coated and gritted felts similar to roofing felts. but. of course, in these various use mentioned, are provided with the mortar simulating lines which have been previously referredto.

In all these previous comer members, whether patented'or-not, it has been the object to make a rigidicorner member with. the lessor the corner a member firmly secured at right angles, one to.

'- the othe'n; as-by applying'interior reinforcing on thefiinside ofthe comer member or by providing various metal reinforcing and, retaining members embedded in thebase material or'thelike oriess similar means.

' for rigidifying thestructure or by the use of more 4 Alsonin'these' previous corner me'mberathere havebeen serious drawbacksin that if they are formed-flat in their process of manufacture with I the legs subsequently brought at right angles, one

coating in which the grit surfacing is embedded.

flnishing oif the 'corners of such, applications.

These corner members which have been used are.

varied in form from a mere. width of aspha1t-satu-- rated and grit coated. roofing felts, in the sur-- face of which mortar joint lines have been. im-

pressed, to various fabricated-corner members built up of various combinations of materials, and in connection with-which, in order toproduce,

if possible, asatisfactory comer, in numerous instances, various reinforcements and the like have beenintroduced to accomplish the desired results.

to'the other, it has been common for the asphalt coated felts with suitable mortar lines impressed 7 All these previously constructed and utilized fon'n's vantages, and while in some cases. theyhsiveserved, they have in general been unsatisfactory'.;

therein, which felts, if properly manufactured and "formed while hot or in a heated condition, can be formed ,to the desired right angl for application of corner member have had very definite disadl 'to t'theT'base member without cracking of the.

. asphalt coating over the exterior corner.

56; =rT-hese several forms of corner members, as

E T" O m 2,393,579

ing brick siding to many larity of the they have been previously proposed and manufactured, have all been rigid members, that is, the aim has been to so construct these corner members that the legs are at right angles, one to the other, and are securely so held to prevent flexing with the consequent likelihood of cracking of the exterior coating over the outside corner. This rigid construction has been a serious detriment to the application of insulatstructures in that t e comers of all buildings are not necessarily right angle corners. In many cases, adjacent walls of a building structure are at some angle other than at right angles as, for example, the usual bay window in which the exterior corners are usually arranged at 135.

The corner member of this invention has been I developed for universal application and to avoid the cracking of the exterior surfacing over the exterior corner, as has been above referred to. This corner member, instead of being arigid structure, is one wherein the legs of the corner member are secured to one another only through a lilnsing, and there is no reinforcement provided for holding the legs rigid, one'wlth'respect to the other. Also, the manner of construction of this corner member is such that in the usual procedureof application, the corner member may be flexed so that it may be fitted to corners other than right angular corners without rupture of the surface coating over the exterior corner, and as will be obvious, the comer member may be applied to a corner of substantially any angularity, whether an exterior or interior corner.

The particular object of the invention hereof is to provide a corner member for application to insulating brick siding installations for finishing off comers, and which corner member is of novel, improved construction so that the angulegs of the comer member may be varied in use, one with respect to the other, so as to fit corners of different angularitles, and in particular it is an object of the invention to provide such a comer member in which, due to its construction, there is not the tendency for the exterior surfacing thereof to crack over the corner such as is-common with all of the previously known corner member constructions, so far as such are known to the inventor of the corner member hereof. Further, it is a particular object of this invention to provide a comer member of construction which, for convenience of manufacture, can be processed fiat, that is, with the legs at 180? and which, after the corner members, otherwise finished, may be bent or folded to the usual angularity of 90 without danger of the exterior surfacing cracking over the corner. Further, it is the object hereof to provide a method of manufacture of the corner member hereof, as well as to accomplish the various other objectives in the production of a novel and superior comer member which has not only the advantages which have been above particularly set forth, but which has other and obvious advantages which will become apparent as the subsequent description thereof is read.

The corner member constituting the physical embodiment of the structure of the invention herein referred to is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein- Figure 1 is a perspective showing the components and their relative arrangement;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a finished corner member with the-legs at right angles; and

-' of which are at an The strip of backerboard which forms the base I 7 stantial hinge for the legs of the comer member,-

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the stiffening members.

The desired structural features of the corner member hereof are obtained and the desired objects of invention are achieved by the utilization of the constructural features and the exercise of the methods of manufacture as follows:

In the corner member hereof, the base thereof or that portion which is of prime importance, is a strip of material referred to as backerboard." The use of this strip of backerboard in the construction of the corner member is the basis of the advantages and improvements obtained in the corner member hereof, and its use in the construction of the corner member is fundamental to the invention hereof. This strip of backerboard material, which is the foundation of the corner unit hereof, is, to all intents andpurposes, a strip of laminated, saturated roofing felt, that is, it' is ordinarily formed by suitably plying together several sheets of saturated roofing felt which may be conveniently adhered, one to another, by an interposed layer of asphalt, and while the thickness of this backerbcard strip is not critical, it should not be less than thick and should preferably be approximately Vfl'thick, and although this strip may comprise such number of layers of saturated felts as may be necessary -to obtain the desired thickness, it is preferable that it shall comprise two layers of saturated felts, or, in the thicker thicknesses, thre layers of saturated felts of the required thickness to obtain the desired final thickness, mately or approximately 54;". The strip of backerboard comprising laminated, saturated roofing felts, as described, is-the base of the corner member, and on one side of t is base material there is applied a coating of asphalt, or the like, to which there is' applied and suitably embedded the such granules or grit as is desired for obtaining the required exterior surface appearance. The gritted surface is suitably indented with a mortar joint pattern, or the like, in accordance with the desired appearance to be obtained. On the other or back side of the backerboard there are applied suitable reinforcing or stiflening strips of material which also serve to bring the overall thickness of the corner member to that desired, which usually is approximately V2".

By the use of the strip of backerboard as a base of the construction of the corner member, it is possible to produce a corner member which does not have to be rigid, that is, when the corner member is formed it is not necessary to secure or rigidify the legs of the corner member at an angularity of one to the other, but they may be left unsecured so that the angularity thereof may be varied somewhat as they are being applied so that they are adapted to the application of the corners, the adjacent walls angularity other than 90.

of the corner member serves not only as a subas has just been described, but further, the use of this strip of backerboard provides for a construction in which the outer surface coating or finish does not have the usual tendency to crack over the corner or apex of the corner member, such as is common with the various corner member constructions now inuse. Apparently, by the use of the relatively heavy sheet, the backerboard as the-basis of the construction of the whether this is approxicorner member, there is provided a cushioning effect under the exterior coating which prevents. I

the exterior coating from cracking as the legs of the corner member may be opened or closed the sheet or felt are felted together and which,

when saturated with asphalt, or the like, acquires many of the characteristics of a plastic sheet. The use of such a plastic sheet of substantial thickness in construction of the corner member provides for suflicient ,strength at the corners, and what might be termed cushioning under theexterior coating to prevent the usual cracking of this exterior coating over the corner of the corner member. Apparently, as the legs of the corner member may be moved inwardly or outwardly to vary the angularity, the cushioning effect of the strip of backerboard, due to its plasticity, provides for sufficient give or flow about the corner of the corner member to prevent the transmission of sufficient tensile pull to the outer surface coating to cause it to be pulled apart and to crack over the exterior corner, and it is this cushioning effect and the plasticity or flow of the sheet of backerboard which makes it possible to produce the new and improved corner member hereof.

In the manufacture of a corner member, in accordance with the invention hereof, to a strip of backerboard in composed of-laminations ll 90. While, in accordance with the illustration i and I2, of suitable width, depending on the distance over which the corner member is to extend over the wall surfaces making up the corner,

there is adhered, to a surface 01' the sheet. suit- Y able reinforcing and stiffening strips of material.

The reinforcing and stiffening strips l4 andv l5, which are suitably adhered to one face of the backerboard strip Ill, may conveniently be relatively narrow strips of fiber insulation board which, preferably, is about A" in thickness. These strips l4 and I5 are each approximately one-half the width of the strip of backerboard Ill, and at their adjacent edges they are oppositely beveled at about 45 groove extending longitudinally andcentrally of the assembly of the two strips, or when these strips are adhered to a face of the backerboard strip "I by adhesive, preferably bituminous adhesive I3, they provide such a V-groove extending longitudinally and centrally of one face of the assembly, the bevels referred to being designated by numerals l6 and I1. I

After the hacker strip in and reinforcing strips H and is have been assembled as described, such assembly may be inverted so that the other face of the backerboard strip I 0 is directed upwardly. To the upwardly facing face of the strip in there is 'then applied a coating of asphalt, or the like, and to this coating of asphalt, while adhesive, there is applied suitable'surfacing granules or grit which are sufliciently embedded in' the coating to securely bond such granules or grit. After the upwardly directed surface of and stiffening strips ,14 and 15 are preferably surface-coated or saturated with asphalt, or other suitable water-proofing medium, which layer of coating, and the relative extent thereof, is indicated in the drawing by the numeral l8.

After the corner member has been fabricated fiat, it can then be formed-by a folding or bending operation so that the legs thereof are po-" sitioned at approximately 90, one with respect to the other, as is clearly indicated in Figure 2 of the drawing. For bending or folding the corner member from its fiat condition in which it is fabricated to its approximate final shape, that is with the legs at 90,.as is shown in Figure 2/ it is preferable that such shall be done while the material is warm, and, conveniently, the strip is folded immediately after the completion of the unit in accordance with the foregoing description, since under these conditions the asphalt coating which is applied to a surface of the backerboard strip l0, and in which the granules have been embedded, should be still warm and will, more or less, have heated the strip' in, and thus the assembly may be readily bent or folded to the desired approximate 90. 1 1

The corner member made in accordance with the foregoing, it will be readily understoodpcan on the jobbe suitably opened up since it has not been reinforced or made solid in the corner, so that it may be fitted to a corner where the walls forming such corner are at an angle other than of the drawing, the corner member, as specifically illustrated, could not be closed up any from I its position at 90 angularity, due to the fact that the bevels of sheets II and ii are shown as 45" bevels, it is. of course, readily apparent that by making these bevels at a somewhat greater anso that the two strips r I4 and i5, when in juxtaposition, provide a V- gularity, say that of 50, it would be possible to somewhat close up the finished corner member to an angularity of 80 between the legs, so that it might be fitted to a comer which is something less than an exact right angle corner.

It will be readily understood from the foregoing' that there has been described in detail the construction and method of manufacture of a corner member-which is a considerable improvement over previous corner members of this general type. Due to the cushioning effect or plasticity of the relatively thicksheet of saturatedfelt forming the base on which the comer memthe backerboard strip ID has been coated and gritted, as described, there may then be impressed mortar grooves, or the like, such as 20, and which pattern may, of course, be varied to match the brick siding material over which the comer member is to be applied.

While it was not previously mentioned, it is to be understood that the fiber board reinforcing bet is built, there is provided suflicient give or plasticity under the exterior finishing coating so that this coating is cushioned and does not crackon fiexure on the corner member, and further that the corner member is one which may be fitted to corners of varying angularity, either somewhat under or in excess of an exact right angle.

The invention hereof having been set out in detail, both with respect to the features of construction and method of making, I claim:

1. A building corner member comprising an elongated'fabricated element folded substantially medially of its width to form a trough-like member, and having as the base thereof a heavy selfs'ustaining and form retaining preformed strip of fiber reinforced plastic of a thickness in excess of but deformable upon slight heating, separate and independent strips of surface waterproofed fiber board adhered to one face of the base sheet, the fiber board strips extending lengthwise of the base sheet, each substantially half the width of the base sheet, and each adjacent edge oppositely bevelled at an angle of about mortar jointpatt'ernimpressed therein, the comthe interior corner thereof.

45 ther base' sheet on its-other face coated with ties of the base sheet without of a plastic; granules adhered to the plastic and a adhesive or other reinforcing-v means applied: in

posite elementbeing folded medially of its width. 3. A buildin corner member" comprising an and comprising outwardly extending leg [portions 5 elongated iabrlcatedlelement'foldedisiibstantialb' extending from .a common apex and positioned medially of its width and-forming a trough-like" with respect-one: to-the otherat an angle of member providing leg: portions extending outapproinmately" 90 and forming a construction wardly from a common apex, and having as the whichisselfsustainin and retains its-form withbase thereof a heavy, self sustaining preformed bout reinforcement inthe interior corner thereof. strip of a plurality of layers of plastic-saturated, 2'. A building. corner member comprising a fiber sheetmaterial adhered: byv interposed plas- Q seif-sustainingyand term retaining plastic sattic adhesive, one face-,- ot thepreformed stripv urate'd' flbefbw sheet at least'fi" thick, the coated with an adhesive, granules embedded in:

sheet folded-.x-substantially centrally or its width the adhesive and providingaweather-"resistant providing leg portions extending outwardly l5 outer surfacing, reinforcing strips of waterproof fromia common apex, one'face of the base sheet material adheredto and covering. the other face coatedwith plastic, granules embedded in the of the base sheet and comprising aseparate sheetplastic, andfrnortar. joint lines impressed in the adhesively attached, intemaliy of the folded base coating, reinforcing strips of water proofed fiber sheet, to eachxof the leg portions of the base-sheet boardladheredto and covering the other face of 20 by interposed adhesive, the reinforcing stripsdithe base sheet and comprisinga separate sheet verging beveled along their adjacent edges, the

\ adhered internally of the folded-plastic sheet to construction retaining its form dueto the self each of the iegportions of the base sheet, the re-- sustaining and formzretaining' properties ofi'thez' inforcing; strips beveled on their adjacent edges plastic-saturated base thereof and the relative and offset lengthwise with respect to the base 25 angularity of divergence of theiegs thereof iadsheet forming-top and bottom edge shlplap conjustabie, the plastic base sheet at. its'foid'func- 1 struction, the'member retaining its form due to timing as a hinge therefor. the self'sustaining and form retaining prop r v WILLIAMLR. JONES; 

